2010-02-04

The City of Edmonton appears ready to jump into new technology for its transit system.

It deals with how you pay to ride the bus or LRT.

City council will be asked later this year to approve spending big bucks on a smart card system.

It's a lot of money up front -- more than $22 million -- to pay for the technology. But, a report going to council's transportation and public works committee next week justifies the investment.

Long-term costs will be down and revenue up, generating nearly $7 million a year or more. But, it will take almost a decade or more for the pay off.

Costs will be down administratively. For instance, they will not have to print tickets, and fare evasion will, in theory, be reduced as well.

On top of that, revenue should be up because the smart card system can change fares in off-peak hours. It can also create a rider loyalty program, which should increase the number of passengers taking the bus or train.

Wait wait, hold on here. The system costs $22 million to implement. It will generate $7 million a year. So how can it take [almost] ten years to pay off? 22/7 is not 10 [depending where you go it is, in fact, pi. -ed]

Meanwhile the city says that the smart card system can make fares higher during peak hours (to discourage ridership) and also have a loyalty program (to increase ridership). Is there a particular reason Edmonton City Council feels the need to do both simultaneously?